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A tornado struck northeastern Wisconsin on Monday, darkening the midday sky and forcing workers sheltering in office basements as powerful winds splintered homes, scattered twisted metal across a highway and blacked out power to more than 30,000 people.
The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado in Winnebago County, about 145 kilometers (90 miles) northwest of Milwaukee.
Damage was reported in cities including Appleton and Menasha, where Police Chief Matt Albrecht said some houses and businesses were “severely impacted.”
There were no reports of death or injuries as of Monday evening, but emergency administrators were still searching, said Gordon Hintz, Winnebago County’s top elected official.
Hintz said he’s received multiple reports of buildings destroyed and vehicles turned upside down. He added that all the warnings for the storm to get people to safety were activated ahead of time. “Obviously when you look at the damage, Mother Nature doesn’t really care,” he said.
The twister ripped roofs off homes and reversed vehicles in one neighborhood in Menasha, just blocks from the coast of Lake Winnebago. Photos showed a trail of destruction, with some houses reduced to their exterior walls.
Later Monday, the storm was moving out of Wisconsin and passing south of Milwaukee through the Chicago area as it began to dissipate, Albrecht said.
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